BHUBANESWAR: In yet another attempt to breathe life into the much-awaited Shamuka project, the Odisha government has initiated a move to revive the beach tourism master plan.
The Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) has been asked to engage a specialised agency for preparation of a revised master plan in tune with emerging regulatory issues involving an upcoming airport and aero city.
Officials said significant changes in site dynamics, particularly restrictions imposed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) due to the proposed airport at Puri, have altered the effective development area. With coastal regulation zone (CRZ) regulations also impacting construction norms, the government has now decided to recalibrate the project through a comprehensive and specialised planning exercise.
First conceived in 1996 as a special tourism area (STA) over 3,500 acres of land south of Puri town extending towards Chilika lake, the project was transferred to OTDC for management under the name of Shamuka beach project.
The master plan for the Shamuka project was prepared twice in 2008 and 2020, with the vision of developing it as a premier international tourist destination equipped with modern facilities. It was then decided to develop the project on a public-private partnership (PPP) mode with top priority.
Additional secretary of Tourism department Rudra Narayan Dash has urged the managing director of OTDC for revision of the previous master plan after factoring in the identified aero city patch and aviation-related restrictions following a decision at a recent high-level meeting.
“The revision would be undertaken in view of development restrictions arising out of the upcoming airport project in Puri and CRZ norms,” he said.
Although the government had earlier spent over `35 crore for land acquisition in Sipasarubali mouza and preliminary infrastructure such as construction of roads, boundary walls, electricity and water facilities, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) stayed all construction activities at the project site, further stalling progress.
Due to prolonged delays, the infrastructure cost estimated at Rs 166.64 crore by CEPT, Ahmedabad in 2008 escalated to Rs 234.48 crore by March 2014. In a bid to expedite the tourism project in an area of 3,000 acres, the government had decided to form a joint venture company - Shamuka Tourism Development Corporation Ltd (STDCL) in 2015, with first-phase development proposed over 982 acres of already acquired land.